Letters In A Word
by The Song Has Spoken
Summary: Apple Bloom is surprised to find out she has forgotten about Mother's Day, but she doesn't have a mother, so no big deal, right? That is, until the Crusaders wonder what exactly a mother is... Meanwhile Applejack also wonders what makes a mother different from anypony else. Could it be that the bond between the two is stronger than what they thought?
1. Chapter 1

It was a rainy evening in Ponyville. Or, perhaps I should say, it was a dark and stormy night? Rain fell lightly in a titter-tatter like fashion on the streets and rooftops, and not a single pony was out. They were all inside, some were curled up by the fire reading or eating, some were sleeping the storm away, and some...

Well, three fillies in particular were lounging on a couch at Rarity's house, wondering how to get their cutie marks.

"All I'm saying," Scootaloo argued, "Is that we haven't tried it yet. Maybe Zecora could help!"

"That's a dumb idea. We can't be spell casters! I'm the only unicorn here." Sweetie Belle argued back, rolling her eyes.

"So? Zecora does it! She could teach us!"

"She makes potions! That's different!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-huh!"

"APPLE BLOOM?!" Both Crusaders turned to their friend, who hadn't taken a side in the argument yet, both relying on her vote. To be honest Apple Bloom had no real desire to choose a side. She would rather let them decide on there own, but some things can't be helped.

"U-um." The farm pony glanced around nervously from where she sat, "Well, Ah suppose it's true we haven't tried it..."

Scootaloo gave a loud whoop, smirking at Sweetie, but Apple Bloom started again, "But, y'know, everypony's always sayin' we'll find our cutie marks doing something we're good at... What if each of us are already good at something and we just haven't tried it yet?"

There was a moment of silence where the other Crusaders stared at her. Rarity stood in the doorway (she had come down to reprimand the girls for being too loud) silently leaning forward in anticipation...

"Good one, Apple Bloom!"

"Yeah, you had me for a second!" The orange and white fillies started laughing at the idea, while Apple Bloom shuffled her hooves nervously. Rarity facehoofed. So close...

"So, we'll try Zecora's the day after tomorrow, then?" Sweetie offered. At least now she was willing to try it, and Scootaloo enthusiastically nodded, "Sure!"

"Day after? Why, what's goin' on tomorrow?" Apple Bloom questioned, tilting her head to the side. Did I forget another party? Is somepony else trying to take over Equestria?

"You mean you forgot?!" Sweetie screeched, causing the others to jump, and Rarity shushed her.

"Girls, girls, settle down!" She scolded lightly. "Sweetie, please, settle!" She added when Sweetie jumped to her hooves.

"Sorry, Rarity." The girls chorused.

"It's just-" Sweetie started.

"Yes, yes, I heard. Apple Bloom forgot that tomorrow is Mother's Day."

_Mother's Day?_ "O-oh. That's tomorrow? Ah reckon Ah did forget." Glad I did, too.

"Aw c'mon, even I remembered it!" Scootaloo said, pride in her voice, "I already have my present for Miss Smiles." Miss Smiles was one of the caretakers at the orphanage Scootaloo lived in; a gentle, young, mint-green mare with a yellow mane and a smiling book cutie mark.

"Miss Smiles?" Sweetie asked, "Is she the one that gave us those oatmeal cookies?"

"Yup! She's one of my favorite staff members. Every year all of us kids plan her a surprise party... Though I guess it's not really much of a surprise if we do it every year." The orange filly grinned sheepishly as if just realizing this, and the other girls laughed, Rarity included.

"Well, that's very kind of you children! Now, it's off to bed. You fillies need to sleep well tonight if you want to have enough energy for tomorrow."

The fillies groaned but otherwise didn't complain as they got ready for bed. They took turns getting ready and kept goofing off, but soon enough they were all in bed. For two of the fillies their dreams would be of their days with their mothers/mother figures, but for one filly it was different.

_I can't believe I forgot Mother's Day!_ Apple Bloom thought as she laid down, _I'm such a terrible daughter! _She tossed and turned for a minute before wondering, _What did Ma look like, anyway?_

She froze for a second as she tried to remember what her mother looked like. She had been a filly when the mare died, but she still had memories of her, right?She closed her eyes tightly, willing an image of her mother to come to mind, but none did.

_Ma had a red coat._ She thought, _And a pink mane. _Feeling satisfied that she'd remember her mother better with the information she tried to pull forth her memories. _My mother... Try to remember! _An image appeared in her head of a sunny day, looking over the apple trees. She felt happy for a moment before realizing it wasn't her mom beside her, but Applejack. Then for some reason she thought of her first day of school. Applejack dropped her off, and she remembered looking back fearfully before going inside, only to see the mare smiling kindly at her.

But Applejack wasn't her mom. She was her sister, right? And the fact that she couldn't remember her mom... That was bad, right?

The filly stayed up late that night, worrying and tossing. She eventually fell into a deep sleep, with memories of Applejack and her running through her head.

* * *

**EDIT: 1/3/14 I am slightly changing how I am attacking the topic, however the end result is staying the same. Chapter has been slightly re-written and added onto.**

**Another story! (Please don't kill me!)**

**My first MLP story, and it's about some of my favorite characters, the Apple Family! (And the Crusaders, to some extent, but that'll be later.)**

**Unlike my other stories I think this one will be a simple "Problem-action-solution." Not to say there is no/limited plot, I just won't be trying to pull tricks out of my hat for this one.**

**So, yeah. Tell me what you think so far, and maybe tell me where you want me to go? I may have an idea but readers' help is always loved! (And it gets my reviews up, so who's complaining?)**

***Oh, and this won't be a "Scootaloo the miserable orphan on the streets" fic. Shocker, I know! I just want this story to be over all happy, so yeah.**

****Also, there won't be any pairings... Unless it's cannon (or Lyra and Bon Bon. I can't help it.). This is strictly family!**


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning the crusaders had to get up extra early to prepare for the day. As they dragged themselves downstairs they chattered about their plans.

"Mom and Dad will be here in a few hours!" Sweetie Belle said happily, sitting in a chair at the table.

"We're going to the park, and then out for lunch!" Rarity smiled down at her sister, passing out breakfast items. Apple Bloom sat quietly, ignoring the concerned look she got from Rarity.

"Our party starts at two." Scootaloo said around a mouth full of food, "I don't really need to be there until noon, though!"

It was quiet for a minute until Scootaloo turned to Apple Bloom, who was practically hiding in her cereal bowl. A rough night of sleeping and nightmares had taken their toll on the poor filly.

"What about you, Apple Bloom?" The orange filly questioned, "What does the Apple Family do for Mother's Day?"

Apple Bloom hated that question. It wasn't a fair one. What did they do? All they could, of course! But, what was that?

"Well, Applejack makes Granny's favorite fritters and pies. We more or less get the day off, too, 'cause not much work gets done." She didn't want to admit why not much work got done, though. Mother's Day was always an... Off day. It drove a wedge in between one of the tightest knit families in Ponyville-maybe even Equestria.

"That's it?" Sweetie asked, "That's all you do? No party, no going out, nothing?"

Apple Bloom shook her head, keeping her chin up. That was how it always had been. Sure, she was a little jealous sometimes, watching other fillies and colts celebrating, but really it was hard to miss something you never had. She felt a cold chill in her chest but refused to acknowledge it.

Everyone was silent, and Rarity kept casting glances at her sister. Soon she said, "Well girls, Sweetie and I's parents should be here in another few hours. Why don't you three go out and say hello to the ponies around town?"

The fillies excitedly hurried out, unsure of where they were going but knowing it was a new day and a new adventure.

"Hey Apple Bloom," Sweetie started, "Why don't you guys celebrate more?"

"Yeah! Everyone else thinks Mother's day is a big deal!"

"Well, Ah guess it's 'cus we don't really have a reason to celebrate more. We don't have a Ma, so we can't spend time with her, y'know?"

"Oh, yeah... That makes sense." Sweetie furrowed her brow slightly but kept walking.

"No it doesn't!" Scootaloo scoffed. "What about Applejack? Ain't she like your mom?"

"What?! Applejack? But she's ma sister! She can't be ma Ma!" Even though those were the exact thoughts Apple Bloom had thought about last night, the filly felt a bit ashamed admitting it. She couldn't impose on her sister like that! It was bad enough the mare had practically raised her as her own, she probably didn't need Apple Bloom rubbing it in.

"I said she was _like_ a mom. She takes care of you, and she raised you, right?"

"_Weeeellll_, yeah... I s'pose so." Apple Bloom thought about it. "But... How can she be my Ma and my sister?" The whole thing seemed surreal. Applejack was Applejack, right? And Applejack was her sister.

"Well, she's like... Your sister by blood, because that's how you two were born, but like your mom because she raised you and loved you like one. I think." Sweetie squeaked, furrowing her brows as she thought.

"Don't hurt yourself." Scootaloo snickered, earning a kick from Apple Bloom.

"Well, why don't we ask someone else, then?" Sweetie smiled, motioning around them at the ponies walking about.

"Ask them what?" Apple Bloom questioned, unsure about getting others involved with her issue.

"Ask them what a mother is, duh." Scootaloo rolled her eyes. Apple Bloom was just about to ask her friends to drop the issue when-

"I know what a mother is!" The trio nearly jumped out of their hides as a voice screeched right behind them.

"PINKIE!"

"C'mon, fillies, let's go back to Sugar Cube Corner, and I'll tell you what a mother is!" The pink mare said cheerfully, oblivious to the stares she got.

"Might as well." Sweetie whispered to the other two, and Scootaloo groaned as they were led away. Apple Bloom's ears drooped as she began to think more and more about Applejack. She highly doubted Pinkie's 'knowledge' would help her situation.

"But I said, 'No, silly! I said alligator, not party canon!'" Pinkie busted out laughing at a joke the Crusaders didn't get. They laughed lightly, glancing at each other. "So, what were we talking about again?" Pinkie asked as they entered the bakery. She trotted behind the counter and set up some boxes as the Crusaders picked a spot to sit. Sweetie sat attentively, genuinely interested in what Pinkie had to say, Scootaloo sat slumped forward, tracing an invisible design over the table, bored as ever, and Apple Bloom sat up straight, however her mind seemed to be elsewhere.

"We were wondering, what's a mother?" Sweetie asked politely. The three were used to Pinkie's behavior, some of them were just more patient that the others.

"Right! Okay, well a mother is... She's... Well," Pinkie was having a hard time starting. What described a mother? She knew it wasn't just blood. But it wasn't just behavior, either, was it? The Crusaders wondered if the answer was really complicated enough to make Pinkie think of her words.

"Well," She began again, "A mother, a real mother, is the most wonderful pony in the world." Her tone was soft, and even Scootaloo sat forward in attention as she continued.

"She's the angel voice that tells you goodnight, and kisses your cheek and says 'sleep tight'." She nodded, more to herself than to the fillies. "Yeah. That's what a mother is." She furrowed her brow as if this was a new revelation to her.

"Can somepony have more than one mother?" Scootaloo asked, and Pinkie snapped out of her daze.

"Oh, well... I suppose so. It depends. Like, if someone is adopted, or if multiple mare's take care of them."

"What about a different family member being a mom?"

"You mean, like... An aunt or an uncle? They could take care of the pony themselves and raise it, I suppose, so... Yeah. I'd say it's possible."

The Crusaders shared a look. "Pinkie, how do you know so much?"

The mare giggled. "Well, I have a mom too, y'know! She doesn't live here, and I can't talk to her everyday, but she's still my mom. This one time I wrote a letter to her and she wrote back and said Inkie had read my letter wrong because they had her read it out loud to them but she skipped over a word and so they all thought I said I got a new party canon when really I said allig-"

"Is Mrs. Cake like your mom?"

Pinkie stared at Apple Bloom for a minute. "Mrs. Cake? Well..." She thought for a second, taping a hoof on the ground. "Well, she is a wonderful pony. And while she doesn't tuck me in she does look out for me and she calms me when I'm upset and she knows me really well and she has raised me since I was a little older than you..." Pinkie thought deeply for a minute but, not really being her style, she just grinned. "I guess she kinda is! But I already have a mom..."

"So she's like your foster mom?" Scootaloo offered, and the others looked at her. "A foster mom is like... a temporary mom when a pony's real mom can't take care of them any more. Sometimes foster moms adopt that pony, too. Since Pinkie moved here when she was a filly and Mrs. Cake took care of her..."

Pinkie smiled and nodded, "That sounds right. I guess she's like my foster mom, then!"

"Well, thanks Pinkie, but we gotta go." Sweetie said as the Crusaders left.

"Any time, girls!" She waved goodbye, grinning ecstatically until they left. Once she was alone, though, she stood there, her face strangely solemn.

"Foster mom, huh? Well, at least she knows when I say alligator and not-"

Mrs. Cake tuned out the rest of Pinkie's thoughts and smiled, heading back upstairs. She loved her little Pie, and she was grateful that Pinkie knew it.

Though... Now that she thought about it... That didn't constitute the need for a party, did it? She gulped and sweat dropped. Please, no...

* * *

**:ALSO EDITED LIKE CHAPTER 1 AS OF 1/3/14:**

**I know Pinkie seems kinda OOC, sorry 'bout that. Her behavior will be explained later, but I'm not sure how yet. Like, a different story, or a different chapter, maybe.**

**Guuuuuuuuuuyyys I could use some feed back! I'm not afraid to whine about it! (Okay I am, but still.)**


	3. Chapter 3

Ah suppose it's mah time to tell mah side of the story, huh? O' coarse, mah sides different from the filly's side. Not much different, Ah reckon, but still.

Ah woke up early like usual. The rest of the family was busy else where when Ah went downstairs for breakfast.

Ya see, we didn't really celebrate Mother's Day. We kinda ignored it, for the most part. The only celebrating we did was after dinner Ah would bake Granny some 'o her favorite fritters and pies. That was a tradition me an' Mac started when we were little, and we still carried it out despite our increasing age.

Apple Bloom asked about it once, Ah recall. Wondered why we celebrated for Granny. Ah said it was 'cause she was a mom, too, but none o' her little ones were left to celebrate with her, and we were what she had left. It wasn't the easiest thing to say, but Apple Bloom was smart as a whip even then, so she understood pretty well.

O' coarse, she also wondered where our parents were. She wondered why we had grown up without them, why we only had a few pictures. It always tore me apart inside, hearing her ask. Watching her try to slip it into conversation, "Well, yeah, but did Mom or Dad ever say...?" Watching as the curiosity was snuffed out as one of us changed topics.

It hurt to hear her ask. But what did we expect her to do? Ignore them? As far as she knew they were there one minute and gone the next, and everypony was tryin' ta forget them. Ah know that doesn't seem fair, leaving her out like that, but it was what we had ta do. She was too young to know the truth, too young to have the image of a happy family shattered in front of her.

In her mind they were loving parents who raised two foals and disappeared when the third one arrived. She thought we were a happy family and something happened to them. And it tore me apart. Because it wasn't like that. Not really.

Growing up our parents were nice enough. They were our Mom and Pop, Mom being from an upper-class Unicorn family and Pop being an Apple. Before they were married Mom's name was Cinnamon Swirl, perfect name considering she was a dessert chef. She had a red coat, a bit lighter than Big Mac's, the same apple-juice colored eyes as mah siblings, and dark red/brown two-toned hair. Pop, meanwhile, was an orange stallion with a blonde mane and bright green eyes.

And, y'know, sometimes Ah wish Ah inherited more from my mom than just her freckles.

But, back to that day. After breakfast Ah was off to work. That's more or less how Ah spent all of that morning, out in the west orchard, tending to the trees and kickin' around the blossoms. Ah always avoid town on this day, because Ah hate going around and seeing ponies out celebrating a holiday Ah can't. It's a horrible kind of jealousy, Ah know, but some things just can't be helped.

Ah was sitting under one of the trees takin' a break when Ah started wonderin' if maybe this year would be the time to tell Apple Bloom about our family. She was old enough, sure. Ah knew that. But if Ah'm honest, holding back that long wasn't entirely about her. Ah wasn't sure Ah could tell the story mah'self. If Ah could keep all of the resentment out of it, or tell everything factually, or even tell it without breaking down.  
Ah was just about to start back to the house to make lunch when Ah saw Big Mac trotting over to me.

"Sis." He said, and Ah raised a brow.

"Apple Bloom's gun' be home soon." I nodded, and he continued, "Ah think yew tew should do somethin' ta-day."

"Us?" Ah asked, tilting mah head.

"Eeyup. Do somethin' b'sides ignore ta-day."

It was... Odd, hearing Big Mac say that. Of all of us he was usually better off on the holiday, sure, but he'd never told me what Ah should do. Not that Ah'm complainin' or nuthin', he's mah big brother and Ah listen to what he has to say, it's just... Ah wondered why he wanted me an' Apple Bloom to hang out.

"Well, okay... Why?"

"Granny Smith says." He shrugged, "An' it sounded like a good idea to me."

Oh, yeah! Ah forgot Granny Smith had told him to tell me. That old coot... And Ah mean that in the nicest way possible.

"Okay then... Ah reckon Ah should think of somethin' ta do then." Ah gave him another confused look, but he wasn't willin' to say much else.

"Eeyup."

Now, Ah'm not a good planner for last minute things. Ah panicked a bit, Ah'll be honest. What could we do? Would she even want to spend time with me? That was a silly thought, Ah suppose, because Ah can't really think of why she wouldn't, but that was mah mind set right then. That, and Ah was swearin' Ah was in no position to act like her mom. Ah was startin' ta think mah family wanted us to spend some mom and daughter time, and Ah was wonderin' why.

Ah guess it's not so hard to admit now that Ah've always taken care of Apple Bloom like she was mah own filly. That day, though, Ah was ready to deny it all the way to Canterlot and back. Ah've always been stubborn, so it's not really a surprise that mah family had to rope me into it.

But as I started thinking about it it started to make sense. As Ah was wonderin' what we were gonna do I was also wonderin'... What exactly our relationship was. Was she really only a little sister to me, and was Ah really only a big sister to her? What did she think about it? Had she ever thought about it. Ah just didn't know.

Ah did know, or at least thought Ah knew, that Ah was in no position to impose on her like that. Sure I had raised her since she was a filly (With Big Mac and Granny's help, 'o course) but she hadn't made me do it. Ah had wanted to do it. Ah wanted to raise her, to keep her close. Ah didn't want to put her up for adoption, because Ah could take care of her. Ah didn't want, Ah did want, it was all so... so selfish of me. There she was, mah little sister, and Ah was being so possessive of her.

Ah had accepted that Ah wasn't her mom long ago, in a way, so Ah wanted to be the best big sister Ah could be. It was mah family's meddling that made me start to change mah mind.

Ah figured we could go out and grab a bite to eat, since we both liked food. Lame, Ah know, but like Ah said... Ah wasn't good with last minute plans. And there was the problem that she hadn't gotten back yet, despite it being noon. Ah decided to start looking around town for her. Part of me wanted to put off the event as long as possible, too, so Ah decided Ah should head to the library first.

Ah regretted this plan slightly when Ah got to the library. Twilight Sparkle opened the door, took one look at me, and practically threw all of the Cutie Mark Crusaders at me.

"I have to study!" Was all she said, before I was face to face with three little fillies, all smiling sheepishly.

"This is gonna be a long day."

* * *

**So, we're starting to see a theme here... Or at least I hope we are XD**

**The next few chapters-the end should be uploaded soon. I have this whole thing planned out, it's just a matter of polishing it and posting it.**


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